Boston Celtics

When: 7:30. Where: Staples Center. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket, ESPN; Radio: 980, 1330. Records: Clippers 23-15, Celtics 21-19. Update: The Celtics started their eight-game trip with a loss to the Lakers on Sunday, falling 97-94 after blowing a late lead. Boston has five players scoring in double figures, led by Paul Pierce (18.4 a game). Dynamic point guard Rajon Rondo ranks second in the NBA in assists (10.0 a game). Keep an eye on the glass: The Celtics rank last in the NBA in rebounds, averaging 38.9 a game, and the Clippers are tied for 11th, grabbing 42.9.

Sixers All-Star forward Andre Iguodala reflected on the pressures of the pro game: "I think it weighs on any basketball player when they are not playing and they think they should be playing," he said. "Some guys, they go to a vice or they go to something that not only hinders their game but it hinders their health overall. Guys can drink; guys can go to drugs. That's the part of the league that people don't see. " After Philadelphia blew past Boston, 103-71, Celtics Coach Doc Rivers was asked about the 76ers' showboating: "If I was a player and I was in and I had a 40-point lead, and I could get a dunk, I'm getting a dunk.

The National Basketball Assn. appears poised to end its five-month lockout, and a new labor agreement can't come soon enough for the thousands of idled workers who don't have a seat at the negotiating table. Those include the employees and entrepreneurs who make a living inside and around the arenas, as well as the restaurants, hotels and souvenir shops that cater to the surge of fans on game days. For everyone else, the announcement of a tentative deal is a mixed blessing.

He sounded like a coach. He sounded like a statesman. But more than anything, Derek Fisher sounded like he was dribbling the ball up the court against the Boston Celtics in the 2010 Finals, daring anybody to step in his path. "There have been moments when it's been draining," he said, his voice rising. "But it's not draining me of my overall energy and passion for playing this game I love to play. " Fisher may currently have the worst sports job in America, but it's exactly where he belongs, the Lakers' soul now serving as the locked-out NBA union's spine.

BASKETBALL GUARDS BOB COUSY (1950-63, '70) Defined the point guard position and helped shape the Boston Celtics' dynasty. His teams won six NBA titles and he was league MVP in 1957, one of only four point guards to earn that award. OSCAR ROBERTSON (1960-74) He was Magic Johnson before Magic Johnson, a tall and physical point guard who was also an exceptional scorer, defender and rebounder. JERRY WEST (1960-74) Was to Robertson what Larry Bird was to Magic Johnson.

Glenn McDonald was an unlikely candidate for a pivotal role in perhaps the greatest game in NBA history. The former Jefferson High and Long Beach State star's NBA career consisted almost entirely of two mostly undistinguished seasons with the Boston Celtics, after which he all but vanished in the minds of U.S. professional basketball fans. His best seasons were spent overseas far from the NBA limelight — in Sweden and the Philippines. But when fate dropped McDonald into the middle of an epic struggle in 1976, he was equal to the task, scoring six of the Celtics' last 10 points in an unforgettable 128-126 triple-overtime victory over the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals.

Parting is such sweet sorrow, even in cow towns. Talk about eras ending. Wednesday's Lakers game in Sacramento may be the NBA's last there … and Phil Jackson's last in a regular season anywhere. Unfortunately, Jackson won't get to say goodbye to the fans he called semi-civilized redneck barbarians, prompting them to go home and get their cowbells. Jackson has since called a move to Anaheim "ridiculous" and said he'll miss the rowdy atmosphere, so even if owners Joe and Gavin Maloof offered him their coaching job in 2005, they're skipping a farewell ceremony.

The Lakers just scored a slam dunk in the Latino market. On Monday the team announced a 20-year agreement with Time Warner Cable to create the nation's first Spanish-language regional sports network, with the Lakers as its centerpiece, starting with the 2012-13 season. The groundbreaking partnership is just the latest in a series of efforts by the Lakers and the NBA as they reach out to the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population. "If you're not able to connect with [Latinos]

Kobe Bryant sat in his chair wearing a black robe, his feet in a bucket of ice, his answers to every question curt, yet straightforward and clear. None of his answers were more succinct than when Bryant was asked to grade the Lakers' defense against the Boston Celtics during Sunday's 109-96 defeat at Staples Center. "F," Bryant said. Why? "Well, we didn't execute well," Bryant said. "We blew too many assignments. " Enough to allow the Celtics to rip holes in the Lakers' up-and-down defense.